Mentors help shape future

AmeriCorps volunteers in Apopka share knowledge and hope as they connect with farmworkers and kids.

July 3, 2005|By Terri Spitz, Special to the Sentinel

APOPKA -- Just shy of turning 20, two Apopka High School graduates have overcome steep odds and are proving to younger students the importance of not giving up.

As a part of the Notre Dame AmeriCorps program, Newton Bell and Yara Zamora work full time helping dozens of kids from elementary to high school. Besides tutoring and acting as summer-camp counselors, both teens think they share a common strength -- their ability as mentors.

Notre Dame AmeriCorps, based in the Office for Farmworker Ministry in Apopka, is a diverse team of volunteers who serve farmworkers, immigrants and underprivileged children through learning and community centers, after-school programs and youth groups.

At 19, Zamora decided to become an AmeriCorps volunteer and give something back to her community. Having been mentored by an AmeriCorps worker when she was younger, she made the choice easily.

The journey has been difficult, though.

A few years ago, Zamora was told by her doctor that she probably wouldn't live to graduate from high school. She was diagnosed with lupus in 1997. Earlier this year, Zamora suffered kidney failure. She spends three hours, three days a week on dialysis. As painful as her health problems are, they haven't stopped her from working as many as 35 hours a week.

"I don't like limits in my life," said Zamora, who plans to go to nursing school. She describes herself as energetic, full of life and a workaholic. Having been a volunteer since August, Zamora says her family has been a tremendous source of support and inspiration.

Two things she says many Apopka teens are without: persistence and self-esteem.

"A lot of kids give up too fast. Girls don't realize all of the options that are available to them." She says she listens and encourages them to believe in themselves.

Bell, 19, shares Zamora's philosophy. He also grew attached to AmeriCorps when he was younger.

At 15, Bell says, he and his brothers were on the wrong path. Drugs and alcohol were not foreign to them. He remembers seeing friends flash drug money in front of him and making that way of life sound easy.

Bell says many of those friends are dead or in jail.

"I don't want to be in jail. It's just not my style," he said.

That wasn't always the case. Bell says he was hanging with the wrong crowd until he was mentored by an AmeriCorps volunteer named John. Bell said John made the difference in his life by keeping a watchful eye over him and his brothers. He credits John for keeping them off the street.

"If you position yourself around good people, they encourage you to stay on the straight path," Bell said.

His most rewarding experiences now are when students look up to him and begin to model their lives in a more positive fashion.

Bell hopes to spend another year as a volunteer.

Not all Notre Dame AmeriCorps volunteers are fresh out of high school.

Cami Tarasewich has brought her knowledge of psychology and sociology from the University of Delaware to fulfill a yearning to serve the community. The best part of the program for Tarasewich is connecting with the kids.

"Sometimes, we're the only constant, supportive adults in their lives," she said.